Radford University
Current Leadership
CSCR Director
Morgan Montañez, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Social and Cultural Research (CSCR). Montañez’s research focuses on rural poverty—specifically on issues related to access to aid programs and healthcare. Montañez received her Ph.D. from Washington State University where she also worked as a Project Manager at the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center. She is an active member of the Rural Sociological Society where she holds positions on several committees, and has conducted research in New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Virginia. Her current research includes a collaboration with Joanna Hunter, Ph.D., and Virginia 211 looking at zip code level data from intake calls to determine what services were not able to be referred, but were needed, to map underserved areas in Virginia. Montañez, originally from rural Colorado, is deeply committed to raising awareness about issues facing rural America.
Montañez is also excited about the prospect of new partnerships in Virginia and welcomes community groups and other faculty to reach out to see how we at the CSCR can collaborate with you! See Montañez's resume here.
Lead Research Assistant
Kristina Wagner is a lead research assistant for the CSCR for Fall 2025, Spring 2026, Fall 2026, and Spring 2027. In her second year in the lab, Kristina brings a wealth of previous experience and leadership skills to the lab. Kristina is a Sociology major and Math minor who is passionate about social justice. Kristina is currently lead on the Virginia 211 project where she is working to formalize analysis procedures and simplify processes students use in cleaning data. Kristina also took a lead on the development of the Radford Housing Survey gaining experience not only in survey design, but also in Qualtrics. Kristina is a Radford SURF grant recipient and will be working with Dr. Montañez to analyze utility use and strain in Radford and Fairlawn in summer 2026.
Lead Research Assistant
Isaiah Moore is a lead research assistant for the CSCR for Spring 2026 and Fall 2026. Isaiah has been with the CSCR since Fall 2025 and shows great promise as a future Sociologist! He has largely been focused on the Radford Housing Project—developing a codebook, writing an IRB, and presenting this work at Wicked Festival, Winter Card, and at the Southwest Social Science Association conference this Spring. Isaiah will work with Dr. Hunter this summer to analyze the first round of quantitative interviews from the Radford Housing Survey, providing a report of the findings and writing a brief for the center on the state of housing at Radford.